MATT Ford apologised to Pirates supporters after admitting he had been forced to shelve plans to hold a league title celebration at Wimborne Road.

Poole won their eighth league crown in 16 seasons when they sunk King’s Lynn in the SGB Premiership play-off final last month.

And boss Ford had been keen to cap the season by staging a night of celebration on Dorset soil, only to be foiled by rider availability.

He told the Daily Echo: “We had been hoping to have a get together with the riders and the stadium manager, Shaun Spencer-Perkins, was keen to assist us in running an event.

“The problem was that Brady Kurtz left the day after we won the trophy and Josh Grajczonek returned home for his father’s birthday.

“Nicolai Klindt and Chris Harris were still riding and Richie Worrall was away until the beginning of November, while Kacper Woryna and Frederik Jakobsen were both abroad.

“It was just not feasible. My apologies go to everybody as I would love to have staged an event at the stadium where we could have celebrated.”

Ford is tomorrow poised to attend the British Speedway Promoters’ Association’s AGM, a key summit at which a host of rules and regulations for the 2019 campaign will be discussed.